Kanou is anti-procreation, more forkballs, bases loaded with Tajima at bat, becoming a true ace, Mihoshi’s last hope, catcher and pitcher bond, deadball, Hatake redeems himself, and the winner in…

Ookiku Furikabutte 07 - I Want to Play Baseball　「野球したい」

Nishiura is down by a run at the end of the 7th inning. As they get ready for their turn on offense, Ren decides not to enter the bench. Abe finds him by the side, digging his face to his knees. Abe realizes that though it is him who calls the pitches, Ren is the one who gets the blame if they get hit. Guilty over failing Abe, Ren’s eyes starts to water, not noticing that Abe is standing in front of him.

Abe offers his apologies for costing them their lead, while commending Ren for his good pitching. Abe admits that he was aiming for a perfect game. He wanted so badly to get a clear win because he feels that Ren still wants to be a part of Mihoshi! Abe then leaves a speechless Ren to get ready for bat.

The three Nishiura batters talk out strategy at the dugout with Momoe. Their plan is to get the bases loaded, so the opposition would think twice about giving Tajima the intentional walk. Momoe also wants to tire out Kanou as he has almost reached his limit.

Sakaeguchi opens the 8th inning at bat. He forces two balls out of Kanou when Hatake notices Momoe signaling to the batter to increase the pitch count. Sakaeguchi hits foul on the next two pitches bringing the count to 2-2. Hatake calls for forkball in hopes to strikeout the batter. Sakaeguchi chooses not to swing which goes to his favor. Momoe has her crazy look on, happy at how things are turning out. Sakaeguchi eventually ends up getting a walk.

Kanou is starting to feel the pressure and exhaustion. He recalls that he can pitch this much with ease in the bullpen and wonders how Ren has been managing doing it for years. Ren, still sulking on the side, questions himself if he wants to return to Mihoshi or not.

Hatake, knowing that Nishiura plans to increase the pitch count, decides that he will call middle fastballs from the get go to get strike the batters out. Okita limps to first base after being hit by the pitch. Kanou is depressed, but gathers himself to face Abe, the third batter.

Kanou is silently protesting as pitching fastballs are taking a toll on him. Abe notices that Hatake has been calling for fastballs. He hits on the first pitch and now, all bases are loaded with Tajima next at bat!

The Mihoshi players huddle up and agree to do a force play. Hatake suggests a double play when Kanou suddenly kicks his “crown jewels”, much to his horror! Kanou asks if he can grip his forkball deeper to make his pitches fall lower. Apparently, he has been holding out, unsure if Hatake could handle it. Hatake, who is still in pain, assures him that he will catch it.

Tajima is in high-spirits over the thought of scoring runs. For the first pitch, Tajima misses, as the course of the forkball was noticeably lower. Tajima focuses and in the process completely ignores Momoe’s signals. He strikes again, but this time he observed and calculated the trajectory. “I’ll hit the next pitch.” The next ball is a changeup, but Tajima manages to send the ball deep into right field. Nishiura scores to tie the game!

After the double play, Tajima goes over to Ren and tells him that even if the bases were loaded, the team only managed to get one run with him batting cleanup. For sure, he has let the team down. However, he is still going back to the dugout and he invites Ren to join him.

Back on the field, Abe is hoping that Hanai will bring him home. Hanai lays down a bunt. Kanou picks up the ball, but loses his footing, allowing Abe to score and take the lead! Kanou loses his cool and breaks down. Oda wishes that Kanou would not show these types of emotions, as the team looks up to him. Kanou quickly wipes away his tears after Oda noticed them. He picks himself up without apologizing for losing the lead earning Oda’s respects.

Momoe’s was trembling with joy over Hanai’s great bunt when she notices Tajima dragging a defiant Ren back to the dugout. Tajima gives Ren an encouraging “nudge” to bring him safely to the dugout. A flood of concerned sentiments welcomes Ren. The others try to cheer him up and even offer him a glass of water. Sitting on the bench, Ren reflects on Abe’s words earlier. He finally realizes that Abe was right. A part of him is still attached to Mihoshi.

Ren stutters as he tells Abe that he knew Oda would hit the pitch because he noticed that he closed his eyes while trying to hit the first pitch. Despite that, Ren stresses that he does not want to go against Abe’s decisions. Before Ren could say anymore, Abe scolds him and demands that he should report these things to him earlier.

Over at the Mihoshi side, the coach overhears Ren and Abe’s conversation. Thus, he knows that the tactic they used with Oda has been found out. Since that is the most he could do, he leaves it to the players to turn the game around.

Finally, bottom of the ninth with two outs, Mihoshi pin their last hopes on Oda. Terrifying as it may be for Ren, having to face the person who was responsible for Mihoshi’s comeback, he stays focus on the challenge at hand. The first pitch takes Oda by surprise, shortly forgetting that Ren is able to juice up his pitch with some speed. Ren acknowledges that he is nervous, but a different kind from what he had experienced in middle school.

Oda hits a foul on the second. Mihoshi is desperately praying for Oda to keep this game alive. As Ren winds up, he thinks about how he is truly enjoying pitching from the mound right now. Ren throws the pitch. Oda focuses, recognizes the pitch, swings—“STRIKE!” Nishiura wins!!! Nishiura wins!!! In that moment, Ren has truly become a real ace.

As Momoe hollers for the boys to ready themselves to leave, Hatake approaches Ren. Abe grabs Ren by the collar to stop him from running away. Hatake speaks up first and apologizes for his past sins, the others quickly follow suit, admitting that they are to blame as well. Mihoshi asks Ren to come back and give them another chance. However, Ren declines, much to Kanou’s dismay. Kanou feels that it would be best if he did, now that he has gained the team’s respect.

Ren still insists that he ruined baseball for Mihoshi back in middle school. He also adds that Mihoshi has always had their ace in Kanou. Ren is very happy that he finally got what he longed for—a chance to play baseball with everyone. “Won’t you be lonely?” Kanou asks. Ren looks back to his teammates and knows that he will not be. Hatake tells Kanou that he has to come out of Ren’s shadow as he will lead the Mihoshi team from now on. After telling Ren a few tips about his pitching, Hatake declares that despite their loss, Kanou is still the better pitcher.

Back at the training site, Abe finds Ren fast asleep. He asks Momoe to let him rest as Ren lacks sleep. Later on, Momoe tells Abe:

“You’ve given him this peace.”
“Ren trusts you as much as you trust him.”
“It feels nice to be trusted, doesn’t it?”

As Abe watches over Ren, he promises that for the next three years, he will spend it making sure Ren will not regret choosing Nishiura.

Thoughts

Finally, we get to see the end of this arc. The game was quite exciting till the very end. And no, Ren did not come up with a new, super powered, anti-gravity, laser-speed pitch to win the game. The Nishiura team utilized what they had, along with good strategizing, and a spot of luck to clinch the win.

You can read more of what I have to say and a lot of Tajima love in Deep Frying Ookiku Furikabutte 07!

BL moments

• Kanou hitting Hatake’s nuts
• Oda and Kanou’s crying scene
• Oda said something like “That’s the kind of pitcher I like. Stay strong, Kanou!” It is up to you how you want to interpret that line *wink*
• When Kanou finally gets to talk with Ren and tries to convince him to stay at Mihoshi
• Kanou asking if Abe will be lonely without him
• Hatake declaring that Kanou is better despite losing
• Abe lovingly staring at a slumbering Ren :3
• Abe promising to make Ren’s stay in Nishiura worthwhile

Episode 08 - Amazing Pitcher? 「スゴイ投手？」